Electrical cables that are utilized for transmission of data are becoming more complex as the demands for transmission bandwidth increase. Passive twisted pair cables are now becoming bottlenecks in networks that rely on such cables to link two computing platforms. Communication cables, twisted pair, or otherwise, may further include one or more IC embedded therein to improve transmission bandwidth. Such cabling is typically referred to as “active.”
Active electrical cables offering greater bandwidth than passive twisted pair cables may suffer from a high cost of manufacture and/or poor reliability stemming from the greater number of components within a the cable assembly. In addition to offering desired transmission line characteristics, EM shielding, and signal processing capabilities, the many components must also be mechanically secured to withstand tensile, compressive, and torsional forces typically found in the field. For example, multiple cable components may need to be welded or glued together, which is time consuming and may not be able to withstand rigorous environmental tests (e.g., 85° C./85 relative humidity, etc.). Furthermore, many processes that have long been employed in cable assembly may be detrimental to the components of an active cable (e.g., an IC, printed circuit board, etc.). For example, thermal stresses associated with the high temperature of an overmolding process may make such processes and resulting structures unsuitable for an active cable assembly. For at least these reasons, final consumer cost of a high bandwidth cable can be significant.